Bush’s IRS Wants to Make Your Tax Returns Public

[FOTD]

What is up with these nosy forkers? Haven't they ever been punched in the face and told to mind their own business?

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/23/bushs-irs-wants-to-make-your-tax-returns-public/

Bush's IRS Wants to Make Your Tax Returns Public
A new article from the Philadelphia Inquirer has blown open the startling plans of the IRS to allow tax preparers for the first time to sell the tax returns of their customers.

The proposal came in a painfully technical tax regulation, which until now had attracted only a dozen public comments since it was announced in December. The proposal calls itself "not a significant regulatory action." But the proposal is indeed significant, both for tax privacy and more broadly.

Until now, tax preparers could not sell tax returns to outside parties. Period. If they got taxpayer consent, they could use it for marketing, but only within their own corporate family.

The new proposal allows the tax preparers –- from your local accountant to giants such as H&R Block –- to get your signature and then give or sell the full tax return to data brokers, to your boss, to anyone. And there are absolutely no restrictions about what recipients do with the returns. The rule lets recipients post the full return to the Internet if they want.

Here are three reasons (you can think of others) why this proposal is wrong:

– First, taxpayer "consent" here is fake. Sometimes my wife and I have used tax prep services. Once the final papers are ready, they come to us with little sticky tabs next to each signature line. It's usually about April 14th and late at night, and we sign where they tell us. Under the new proposal, they just add one sticky tab, and taxpayers have now "consented" to having their tax returns sold to anyone.

– Second, the proposal is all risk and no reward for consumers. The risk is of identity theft and more – unknown people can get your full tax return. The reward to consumers is zero.

– Third, this proposal shows once again that the administration doesn't "get" privacy. Warrantless wiretaps, "total information awareness," and now sale of your tax returns. There is still no White House official whose job is to screen proposals and protect privacy (a role I played in the Clinton Administration). There should be.


The last straw, Dumbya - the last straw.
1-20-09 can't come soon enough......

[Conan71]

At some point in the chain of responsibility, the IRS does have autonomy- perhaps too much.

Secondly, double-check the date of this story- it's 23 months old.

Third, quit blaming everything on Bush.  He's a trainwreck but it's old and it doesn't recognize how ****ed up the whole system in Washington is when we try to blame one person for every single ill of government.

Not Bush's fault unless it comes via an Executive Branch order, or it was crammed deep in some energy legislation.

I was alarmed this year when I was asked if it was okay for my preparer to share my personal information with other "members of their business family".  **** no it wasn't okay!

[FOTD]

The little devils also lay blame at the feet of Congrass. Why do you think the support for Obama? He voted against the worst mistake in history....

[FOTD]

Editorial
Show Us the Money  
Published: February 15, 2008


"As the presidential campaign narrows and its costs skyrocket, detailed disclosure of financial resources becomes ever more important. Of the leading contenders, so far, only Senator Barack Obama has released his full income-tax returns — a level of disclosure once routine for candidates after the political corruption of Watergate.

Release of the tax returns should not be made conditional on winning the nomination, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has made it. Both Senator John McCain, the Republican front-runner, and she owe it to their parties and to voters to promptly make available their Internal Revenue Service filings, and to respond to any questions about them. It is true that as senators, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain are required to file financial disclosure forms. But those forms present only general parameters of family financial resources, not the detail available on tax returns.

The need for greater transparency regarding the income and overall financial dealings of candidates and their spouses was underscored by Mrs. Clinton's recent decision to make a $5 million loan to her campaign. Such borrowing is a permitted practice under the campaign laws. But the campaign said the money came from her share of the Clintons' joint resources, and that calls attention to the lack of information about their family finances. As a former president, Bill Clinton has been making millions annually giving speeches and traveling the globe. What is publicly known about his business dealings is sketchy, and clearer disclosure of them is required to reassure voters that Mrs. Clinton's candidacy is unencumbered by hidden entanglements.

In the same spirit, the Clintons are obliged to make prompt disclosure of the major donors who have been backing the former president's library and foundation. It is not even clear whether Mr. Clinton would disclose his library's donors if his wife won the White House.

Likewise, Senator McCain has yet to release his tax returns, a strange omission for a candidate with a record of supporting strong government ethics measures. A spokesman for Mr. McCain raises the prospect that he may hold back his tax returns through the fall campaign, saying that he would not decide whether to release them until he officially is the Republican nominee. That would neatly thwart the party-vetting process, even if he does finally make the returns public. In the meantime, questions are arising about the senator's fund-raising as it relates to his position as the former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and its regulatory powers over business.

Participation in big-money politics inevitably runs the risk of encountering deep-pocketed benefactors who can become back-slapping embarrassments. Mr. McCain learned that lesson when he was caught up in the Keating Five scandal in the 1980s. The Clintons have also learned this lesson across the years, just as Senator Barack Obama rues what he calls "boneheaded" dealings with Antoin Rezko, a Chicago businessman indicted last fall for fraud and influence peddling.

Mr. Obama felt obliged to return $150,000 in Rezko donations. Critics question why the senator had a favorable land deal with Mr. Rezko even after reports emerged of a federal investigation into Mr. Rezko's affairs.

The reluctance of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain to reveal more about their finances ill-serves voters and the nominating process of both parties. It also sets a terrible precedent for future campaigns for important posts at the national and state level. "

[cannon_fodder]

Did anyone else notice that this provision requires citizens to authorize such a transaction?

It allows H&R Block to buy your tax return from you and then sell it to others.

If you don't want H&R Block to sell your tax return, don't sell it to them.  Complaining that this provision is "Bush making your tax return public" is about as off base as alleging that a signature on a HIPPA form is "Clinton making your medical records public."  This must be going well if this is all that is left in the "Bush blah blah blah" arsenal.

Nothing to see here, move along folks.

[FOTD]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Did anyone else notice that this provision requires citizens to authorize such a transaction?

It allows H&R Block to buy your tax return from you and then sell it to others.

If you don't want H&R Block to sell your tax return, don't sell it to them.  Complaining that this provision is "Bush making your tax return public" is about as off base as alleging that a signature on a HIPPA form is "Clinton making your medical records public."  This must be going well if this is all that is left in the "Bush blah blah blah" arsenal.

Nothing to see here, move along folks.

An open door to forgery.....

[cannon_fodder]

Currently I can't sell my tax return information if I want to.  So the reason to forbid this right is because someone might forge it?  Better get rid of driver's licenses, HIPPA forms, and tax returns themselves... since they can be forged or otherwise abused.

Those crimes are rare.  Simply because the punishment is set up to outweigh any potential reward.  If H&R Block files your return and it is released against your wishes, that's an easy action against them usually for obscene amounts.  Not to mention it would surely put the offending company out of business (they are in the information business after all).

And again, fears of possible forgery is a lame excuse to outlaw something.  If we operated under the assumption that anything that could be abused will be and should therefor be banned, our entire society would be crippled.

[FOTD]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Currently I can't sell my tax return information if I want to.  So the reason to forbid this right is because someone might forge it?  Better get rid of driver's licenses, HIPPA forms, and tax returns themselves... since they can be forged or otherwise abused.

Those crimes are rare.  Simply because the punishment is set up to outweigh any potential reward.  If H&R Block files your return and it is released against your wishes, that's an easy action against them usually for obscene amounts.  Not to mention it would surely put the offending company out of business (they are in the information business after all).

And again, fears of possible forgery is a lame excuse to outlaw something.  If we operated under the assumption that anything that could be abused will be and should therefor be banned, our entire society would be crippled.

You miss the point. Privacy is a thing of the past. Our government is no longer concerned with the individuals right to privacy...

Then again, I'd pay for a copy of Mr. Cheney's return.....

[cannon_fodder]

You wouldn't be able to buy Cheney's return unless he signs a waiver allowing you to do so.

Do you really understand what's going here or are you us trying to be outraged by something?  The returns REMAIN PRIVATE unless you ALLOW THEM TO BE RELEASED.  Raise an argument against that position.

[FOTD]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

You wouldn't be able to buy Cheney's return unless he signs a waiver allowing you to do so.

Do you really understand what's going here or are you us trying to be outraged by something?  The returns REMAIN PRIVATE unless you ALLOW THEM TO BE RELEASED.  Raise an argument against that position.

Once the return is out, it's out. There for all to see.....

[cannon_fodder]

Incorrect.   It is only out under the terms of the waiver.

You have a sign a waiver. If you are dumb enough to sign a generally waiver allowing your statement to be released to the public, then why should I care?  If you don't care what happens to your info, I don't.

The proposed law allows people to sell their return if they so choose.  You have YES to raise an argument against the proposed practice.

Continue to raise outrage over non-issues if you want, it only serves to illustrate how little you actually have to complain about.

[FOTD]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Incorrect.   It is only out under the terms of the waiver.

You have a sign a waiver. If you are dumb enough to sign a generally waiver allowing your statement to be released to the public, then why should I care?  If you don't care what happens to your info, I don't.

The proposed law allows people to sell their return if they so choose.  You have YES to raise an argument against the proposed practice.

Continue to raise outrage over non-issues if you want, it only serves to illustrate how little you actually have to complain about.

Waiver? Right.....waive it right over to the internets.

[Conan71]

Aox, I truly am amazed at how easily you get sucked in on some of these stories.  You need to quit reading Pravda and get some balance to your reading diet.

[guido911]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Did anyone else notice that this provision requires citizens to authorize such a transaction?

It allows H&R Block to buy your tax return from you and then sell it to others.

If you don't want H&R Block to sell your tax return, don't sell it to them.  Complaining that this provision is "Bush making your tax return public" is about as off base as alleging that a signature on a HIPPA form is "Clinton making your medical records public."  This must be going well if this is all that is left in the "Bush blah blah blah" arsenal.

Nothing to see here, move along folks.

Uh, the source is Think Progress. 'nuff said.

[cannon_fodder]

quote:Originally posted by FOTD
Waiver? Right.....waive it right over to the internets.

Translation:

No, I did not even really understand what I was supposed to be outraged about.  Even after you explained it to me I didn't really read your explanation.  But the internets told me to be outraged and so I am.  I can't argue the point and with the help of your enlightenment I realize I am totally wrong.

But the internets told me to be outraged.